• FIA

Loophole allows for in-season engine development

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The FIA has accepted a loophole exists in its engine regulations that allows for power unit performance upgrades throughout the 2015 season.

The loophole, which was reported by Autosport , goes some of the way towards satisfying the demands of Ferrari and Renault to lift the freeze on engine development during the season. It stems from the absence of a homologation deadline in the technical regulations, which means there is no date by which the teams have to submit their final power unit designs to the governing body to be frozen for the rest of the year.

Last year the deadline was on February 28, but the 2015 regulations do not stipulate an exact date, only that homologation would take place. The FIA had been working on the basis that the first race would represent the homologation deadline, but after the issue was raised in the F1 Strategy Group before Christmas the head of the FIA technical department Charlie Whiting wrote to the teams informing them that engine upgrades could be added at any time during the year.

The limit on engine development via a token system still applies, effectively meaning the manufacturers can now spread the development they would have completed before the first race over the course of the season. Under the regulations the manufacturers are limited to 32 tokens, which equates to the opportunity to change 48% of 45 different engine components over the course of the year.

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However, Honda will not benefit from the loophole as it is a new manufacturer this year and will have to abide to a February 28 homologation deadline like its rivals did last year. Up until that date Honda is free to develop its power unit as much as possible, but it will then only be limited to upgrades for reliability, safety or cost saving purposes.